How to find translations and phonetic transcriptions of vocal works

 

Note: Not all resources can be found through this search tool (catalogue).

Consult the resources on this and other guides to access additional sources.

There are several ways to find translations and phonetic transcriptions of opera, song, and sacred vocal music texts.

Types of translations/transcriptions

• French: The original text is translated into French as well as English
• Idiomatic: The translator has rendered the original text into idiomatic English phrases (as opposed to word-for-word translations), but has not necessarily retained its rhyme and verse structure.
• IPA: The pronunciation of each word is transcribed using the International Phonetic Alphabet.
• Poetic: The translator has attempted to reproduce the poetic nature of the original text in the translation.
• Word-for-Word: Each word is translated literally. The grammatical sense of a translation is sacrificed to clarify the meaning of each individual word.

The following list contains many, but not all, of the Music Library's books for singers, coaches, accompanists, and others who wish to understand the meaning of various vocal texts and to pronounce them correctly.

By language:

French

Bernac, Pierre. The Interpretation of French Song.
MT892 B4 1997

• Poetic

Castel, Nico. French Opera Libretti. 2 vols.
ML48 F74 1999

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Castel, Nico. Italian Belcanto Opera Libretti. 3 vols.
ML48 I83 2000
Vol. 3 contains French opera libretti of operas composed by Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini.

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Johnson, Graham. A French Song Companion.
ML54.6 J76 F74 2000

• Idiomatic

---

German

Cao, Hélène, and Hélène Boisson. Anthologie du lied.
ML54.6 A68 2010

• French
  Poetic

Castel, Nico. German Miscellaneous Opera Libretti.
ML48 G37 2005

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Fischer-Dieskau, Dietrich. The Fischer-Dieskau Book of Lieder.
PT1160 E6 F5 1998

• Poetic

Glass, Beaumont. Selected Song Texts of Great German Lieder.
ML54.6 G53 2004

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Miller, Philip Lieson. German Lieder.
ML54.6 G275 1990

• Poetic

Paquin, Marie-Thérèse. Dix cycles de Lieder : Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Schubert, Schumann.
ML54.6 D59

• Word-for-Word
  IPA
  Idiomatic
  French

Phillips, Lois. Lieder Line by Line, and Word for Word.
ML54.6 P55 L5 1996

• Word-for-Word
  Idiomatic

Prawer, S. S. The Penguin Book of Lieder.
ML54.6 P46 1964

• Poetic

---

Italian

Castel, Nico. Italian Belcanto Opera Libretti. 3 vols.
ML48 I83 2000

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Castel, Nico. Italian Verismo Opera Libretti.
ML48 I89 2000

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Gerhart, Martha. Italian Song Texts from the 17th Century.
ML54.6 I83 v.1

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Gerhart, Martha. Italian Song Texts from the 18th Century.
ML54.6 I83 v.2

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

LeVan, Timothy. Masters of the Italian Art Song.
ML54.6 M34 1990

• Word-for-Word
  Poetic

Paquin, Marie Thérèse. Airs et mélodies: Mozart, Schubert, classiques italiens.
ML50.7 A383 1983

• Word-for-Word
  IPA
  Idiomatic
  French

---

Russian

Richter, Laurence R. Selected Nineteenth Century Russian Song Texts.
ML54.6 R53 2005

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Piatak, Jean and Regina Avrashov. Russian Songs and Arias.
MT883 P54 1991

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

---

Spanish

Cockburn, Jacqueline, and Richard Stokes. The Spanish Song Companion.
ML54.6 S76 2006

• Poetic

---

Various

Coffin, Berton. Phonetic Readings of Songs and Arias. 2nd ed.
MT883 P5 1982

• IPA

Coffin, Berton. Word-for-Word Translations of Songs and Arias. 2 vols.
ML54.6 W65 1966

• Word-for-Word

Retzlaff, Jonathan. Exploring Art Song Lyrics: Translation and Pronunciation of the Italian, German & French Repertoire. IPA transcriptions by Cheri Montgomery.

• Poetic
• IPA

Singher, Martial. An Interpretive Guide to Operatic Arias.
MT892 S5 1983

• Poetic

---

By composer:

Johann Sebastian Bach

Ambrose, Z. Philip. The Texts to Johann Sebastian Bach's Church Cantatas.
ML54 B15 C32 1984
Also available online

• Poetic

Martino, Donald, ed. 178 Chorale Harmonizations of Joh. Seb. Bach. 2 vols.
M3.1 B2 A15 1985
English translations are found in vol. 2.

• Poetic

Unger, Melvin P. Handbook to Bach’s Sacred Cantata Texts: An Interlinear Translation with Reference Guide to Biblical Quotations and Allusions.
ML54 B15 C329 1996

• Word-for-Word

---

Georges Bizet

Dibbern, Mary. Carmen: A Performance Guide.
ML410 B62 D53 2000

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

---

Johannes Brahms

Glass, Beaumont. Brahms' Complete Song Texts.
ML54.6 B82 G52 1999

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Magner, Candace A. Phonetic Readings of Brahms Lieder.
ML883 M23 1987

• IPA

Stark, Lucien. A Guide to the Solo Songs of Johannes Brahms.
MT115 B73 S73 1995

• Idiomatic

Stark, Lucien. Brahms' Vocal Duets and Quartets with Piano.
MT115 B73 S7 1998

• Idiomatic

---

Claude Debussy

Cobb, Margaret G., ed. The Poetic Debussy: A Collection of His Song Texts and Selected Letters. Rev. 2nd ed.
ML54.6 D42 C62 1994

• Poetic

Rohinsky, Marie-Claire. The Singer’s Debussy.
ML54.6 D42 R62 1987

• Word-for-Word
  IPA
  Poetic

---

Gabriel Fauré

Gartside, Robert. Interpreting the Songs of Gabriel Fauré.
ML410 F27 G37 1996

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

---

George Frideric Handel

Castel, Nico. Handel Opera Libretti.
ML49 H13 K4 2005

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

---

Leoš Janáček

Cheek, Timothy. The Janacek Opera Libretti: Translations and Pronunciation.
ML49 J36 J37 2003

• Word-for-Word
  IPA
  Idiomatic

---

Giacomo Meyerbeer

Letellier, Robert Ignatius, and Richard Arsenty. Giacomo Meyerbeer: The Non-Operatic Texts.
ML47 M47 2007

• Poetic

---

Claudio Monteverdi

Stevens, Dennis. Claudio Monteverdi: Songs and Madrigals.
ML54.7 C54 1998

• Poetic

---

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Castel, Nico. The Libretti of Mozart’s Completed Operas. 2 vols.
ML49 M83 C3 1997

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

---

Modest Mussorgsky

Richter, Laurence R. Mussorgsky’s Complete Song Texts.
ML54.6 M9 R52 2002

• Word-for-Word
  IPA
  Idiomatic

---

Francis Poulenc

Deeter, Alissa, and Robert Peavler. The Mélodies of Francis Poulenc.
MT121 P78 D44 2014

• Word-for-Word
  IPA
  Poetic

---

Giacomo Puccini

Castel, Nico. The Complete Puccini Libretti.
ML49 P75 C37 2002

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Weaver, William. Seven Puccini Librettos.
ML49 P75 W423 1981

• Idiomatic

---

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Challis, Natalia. The Singer's Rachmaninoff.
ML54.6 R18 S52 1989

• Word-for-Word
  IPA
  Poetic

Richter, Laurence R. Rachmaninov’s Complete Song Texts.
ML54.6 R18 R53 2000

• Word-for-Word
  IPA
  Poetic

---

Joaquín Rodrigo

Draayer, Suzanne Rhodes. A Singer’s Guide to the Songs of Joaquín Rodrigo.
ML54.6 R63 D7 1999

• Word-for-Word
  IPA
  Idiomatic

---

Franz Schubert

Glass, Beaumont. Schubert's Complete Song Texts. 2 vols.
ML54.6 S39 G515 1996

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Magner, Candace A. Phonetic Readings of Schubert Lieder.
MT883 M25 1994

• IPA

Reed, John. The Schubert Song Companion.
ML134 S38 R44 1985

• Poetic

Wigmore, Richard. Schubert: The Complete Song Texts.
ML54.6 S39 W54 1988

• Poetic

---

Robert Schumann

Glass, Beaumont. Schumann's Complete Song Texts.
ML54.6 S4 V62 2002

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

---

Dmitri Shostakovitch

Richter, Laurence R. Shostakovich’s Complete Song Texts.
ML54.6 S559 S6 2007

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

---

Richard Strauss

Castel, Nico. Four Strauss Opera Libretti. [Der Rosenkavalier, Elektra, Salome, Ariadne auf Naxos]
ML49 S76 O6 2002

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Glass, Beaumont. Richard Strauss’ Complete Song Texts.
ML54.6 S78 G53 2004

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Jefferson, Alan. The Lieder of Richard Strauss.
MT115 S83 J4 1971b

• Poetic

---

Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky

Richter, Laurence. R. Tchaikovsky’s Complete Song Texts.
ML54.6 T24 R53 1999

• Word-for-Word
  IPA
  Idiomatic

Sylvester, Richard D. Tchaikovsky’s Complete Songs: A Companion with Texts and Translations.
ML54.6 T24 S9 2004

• Poetic

---

Giuseppe Verdi

Castel, Nico. The Complete Verdi Libretti. 4 vols.
ML49 V45 C372 1994

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Weaver, William. Seven Verdi Librettos.
ML49 V45 O62 1975

• Idiomatic

---

Richard Wagner

Castel, Nico. Three Wagner Opera Libretti. [Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Tristan und Isolde, and Parsifal]
ML49 W14 S8 2006

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Castel, Nico. Der Ring des Nibelungen.
ML50 W14 R32 2003

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

---

Hugo Wolf

Richter, Laurence R. Hugo Wolf’s Complete Song Texts.
ML54.6 W64 G52 2000

• Word-for-Word
  IPA

Books of translation/transcriptions

Most translation resources are classed in the range ML47-ML54.8. The most popular resources are kept on reserve at the 4th-floor desk; the rest are located on the 5th floor.

Other useful resources may appear under the following subject headings:

Song and vocal chamber music texts

Songs -- Texts

Songs, German -- Texts
(Substitute another language for "German")

The texts of major poets may appear in published translations such as The Complete Poems of Heinrich Heine and Last Love Poems of Paul Eluard: A Bilingual Edition. These may be found in the Library catalogue:

Opera Libretti

All opera libretti in the Music Library collection should have the following subject heading:

Operas -- Librettos

To find the libretto of a specific opera, use the Advanced search in the Library catalogue:

1. Enter the composer's name and words from the original name of the opera (e.g., use nozze, not marriage)
2. Write librettos as a "Subject Heading".

The French periodical Avant-Scène Opéra publishes French translations of opera libretti paired with the original text as well as historical commentary on the work, a list of significant productions, and a discography.

Translations in Scores

Several scores include translations, either singable ones printed with the music or poetic ones printed separately. To locate these scores use the Library catalogue:

1. Enter composer and work/genre as keywords.
2. Type translation*. The * is a truncation symbol and will retrieve records with either translation or translations.
3. Select Score as the format.

It will be necessary to sift through catalogue records of scores with other translations (e.g., of the prefatory material or critical commentary).

Most audio recordings produced for an Anglo-American audience provide English translations of the recorded texts. European labels such as Harmonia Mundi or Deutsche Grammophon will often provide French translations as well.

Follow these steps to find translations in liner notes:

1. Enter composer and work as keywords.
2. Type translation*. The * is a truncation symbol and will retrieve records with either translation or translations.
3. Select Music as the format.

Not all sound recordings are listed in the Library catalogue. For more information on locating audio/video recordings in the McGill Library, visit the Online audio and discographies page.

Print dictionaries that include phonetic transcriptions are found in the 3rd-floor "Quick reference" section.

Online language dictionaries are accessible from any McGill computer or remotely via EZproxy or VPN. The most commonly consulted online reference tools are listed on McGill Library's Dictionaries page.

The Aria Database

The LiederNet Archive (Formerly the Lied, Artsong, and Choral Texts Archive)

The Diction Domain

IPA Source - International Phonetic Alphabet transcriptions and literal translations of songs and arias

Mozart Opera Libretti
This database, produced by the Mozarteum Salzburg Foundation and the Packard Center for the Humanities, provides the complete original texts of Mozart's operas. Two features in particular are useful for diction guidance. Under Options, select "Word accents" to see the character (open / closed) of the stressed syllable in each word or "Merging/Separation of the Vowels" to clarify how Mozart words / syllables are separated or elided while singing.

Albert Schatz Collection of Opera Libretti (Library of Congress)

• First and early editions of Italian, French, and German opera libretti from the 17th and 18th centuries
• Collection contains more than 12,000 fully catalogued and digitized libretti
• Object viewer allows users to zoom and download